Many agricultural compounds such as herbicides, fertilizers, pesticides and the like must be absorbed to be effective. For example, herbicides are utilized to inhibit or destroy plant growth.
A compound that enhances the absorption of agricultural compounds such as herbicides is a tertiary amine surfactant having the Formula: ##STR2## where R is derived from tallow oil having an average of 18 carbon atoms and x+y total 15.
However, these surfactants are irritants to animals and corrosive to materials. It is presently believed that the irritative and corrosive effects are due to the unshared pair of electrons in the amino group. The amine can be neutralized with an organic or inorganic acid, e.g., acetic acid, that converts the amino group to its ammonium derivative. However, neutralization with these organic or inorganic acids does not satisfactorily reduce the irritative or corrosive effect of the surfactant or the composition to which it is added.